The situation in Montenegro has come to an end.
Lin Ce left, no longer caring about what would happen to Black Mountain behind him.
He originally intended to return directly to the escort agency in Erhe County, but after thinking about it, he decided to head towards Sanjiang County instead.
He hadn't received any notification from the system that the goods had been successfully delivered, which bothered him.
It was unclear whether the caravan was still on its way or if some other problem had arisen.
He hurried along the road, but even when he entered the city of Sanjiang, he still had not received any feedback, and his mood suddenly became heavy.
Many thoughts arose in his mind.
Did the caravan not return, or did they return but the Hundred Herbs Sect refuses to accept the delivery because the herb gathering time was slightly too short?
With this in mind, he came to the Hundred Herbs Sect.
Unexpectedly, before even meeting the head of the Hundred Herbs Sect, they had already met the owner of their own escort agency, Su Caiying.
Accompanied by Qiangwei, Su Caiying came to visit the Master of Baicao Sect.
"Chief镖师 Lin, why are you alone? Have all the镖队 (escort teams) returned?"
Su Caiying peered behind Lin Ce.
Rose, who was standing behind Su Caiying, suddenly changed her expression and stepped forward to block her.
Her brows furrowed, her gaze falling on Lin Ce in front of her, her eyes showing some surprise and uncertainty.
Lin Ce knew perfectly well where her surprise and doubt came from.
Because at that very moment, he could also vaguely sense the aura emanating from the rose.
That was clearly an aura far surpassing that of a martial artist who had acquired their skills later in life.
It was an aura similar to that of Zhuo Tianqing, whom I encountered on Black Mountain.
innate!
Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, the rose in front of me is clearly much further ahead in the Innate Realm than Zhuo Tianqing.
"The caravan hasn't returned yet?"
Although he had already anticipated this, Lin Ce's expression still changed slightly at this moment.
"Chief镖师 Lin, what happened?"
Su Caiying's expression also changed slightly.
But Lin Ce sensed that there was a hint of expectation in her words.
No, how could that be? It must be my imagination.
Lin Ce's face was ashen as he looked at Su Caiying and asked:
"Master, I've heard that the Su family has many spies. Do you have any way to find out the current movements of the caravan?"
No, no.
Su Caiying let out a soft cry and leaned back.
"Chief镖师 Lin, I keep my word. Since your strong request last time, I haven't sent any spies to spy on the镖队's movements."
She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and whispered in Lin Ce's ear.
"What happened? Did you lose your goods? Don't be embarrassed. Let them all come over. I'll take you to see the Hundred Herbs Sect Master. It's just a little money to pay. Don't worry, your boss can afford it."
Seeing Lin Ce's almost frozen expression, Su Caiying was overjoyed.
Indeed, it's true what they say: you may plant flowers intentionally but they won't bloom, while you may plant willows unintentionally and they will thrive.
Just when he decided to stop thinking about losing the shipment, he immediately received his reward, losing a large shipment himself.
If the system gives a tenfold return on this shipment, how much profit would that be?
Even after deducting the promised compensation, it's still a surprisingly good amount.
However, Lin Ce shook his head.
"No goods were lost. Since there's no news from the owner, I'll go check again. There's still plenty of time before the agreed delivery date, no rush."
He was about to leave when he suddenly heard a cry from the sky. A falcon flew swiftly and landed on Rose's outstretched arm.
Didn't they say they wouldn't send instigators anymore?
This thought crossed Lin Ce's mind, and he glanced sideways at Su Caiying.
For some reason, Su Caiying felt a pang of guilt and quickly said something.
"There really weren't any spies following the caravan."
"This news came from Erhe County."
Rose had already read the letter brought by Falcon, and gave Su Caiying a look of disappointment.
"What did you say?"
Su Caiying quickly changed the subject.
"Something has happened to the escort team."
Rose shook her head. "The message was sent from Lianjiang Water Village, and then the escort agency sent another one over."
"Lianjiang Water Village?"
Lin Ce's eyes flashed, and he realized that it must be the caravan returning by boat. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Rose continued:
"The entire caravan and the herbalists from the Hundred Herbs Sect have been held captive by bandits from the Lianjiang Water Village. They are demanding a ransom before they will release them."
"ah--"
Su Caiying covered her mouth with her hand, "How much ransom do you want?"
She was already thinking about paying the ransom.
"Wait a minute."
Lin Ce stopped her.
"Master, let me handle this first. These are just bandits from the water stronghold. How dare they detain my escort agency's people? We must not let them get away with this."
"You'll handle this?"
Rose chuckled softly, "Do you know what kind of place this Lianjiang Water Village is?"
“I do know a little, but more detailed information would be better.”
"I do know detailed information about Lianjiang Water Village."
As the three were talking, an old man walked over.
It was none other than Master Sun of the Hundred Herbs Sect.
After the group went inside and took their seats, Lin Ce quickly learned about the Lianjiang Water Village from Sect Leader Sun.
It turns out that Lianjiang Water Village is known as the number one water village in Sanjiang County, and all the water villages in the county are ranked first.
The stronghold is home to many powerful martial artists. The chief of the water stronghold once challenged a martial artist from Sanjiang County to a duel on the Lanjiang River, which lasted three days without a clear winner.
That martial artist has already broken through to the seventh rank and become a Xiantian martial artist, one of the three Xiantian martial artists in Sanjiang County.
The fact that the leader of Lianjiang Water Village was able to fight this martial artist for three days back then speaks volumes about his strength.
Although no official news has been released, there are rumors circulating that the leader of Lianjiang Water Village has already broken through to the Innate Realm.
There are now four innate martial artists in Sanjiang County, not three.
"Chief镖头 Lin, in my opinion, we should pay the ransom. Although Lianjiang Water Village is not a righteous sect, it has a good reputation under the control of its leader. Once we receive the ransom, they will release everyone safely. They should not go back on their word."
After glancing at the group, Sect Leader Sun said again:
“Miss Su, Chief Escort Lin, this matter was largely caused by me, so I will pay the ransom.”
Meeting the questioning gazes of the group, Sect Leader Sun gave a wry smile.
"It's also my fault for not thinking things through earlier and offending many of the escort agencies in this county. Otherwise, the Lianjiang Water Village wouldn't have acted this way."
After another explanation, Lin Ce and the others understood the details.
Although Lianjiang Water Village is known as the number one water village in Sanjiang County, it has long since stopped engaging in such robbery activities.
Now they are doing even more profitable business, and the comings and goings of merchant ships on the county's waterways are all at their beck and call.
Among the many escort agencies in Sanjiang County, some people are on good terms with the bandits of Lianjiang Water Village, and it is very likely that they were the ones who caused this trouble.
"Gentlemen, this is just my speculation, there is no evidence. It's good that we know, but once we leave this room, we must not say anything more."
The group nodded, indicating that they understood.
Even at this point, Sect Leader Sun was still worried about getting too entangled with those escort agencies.
"Sect Leader Sun, it's alright. I'll pay the ransom. As the owner of the escort agency, it's my duty..."
Before Su Caiying could finish speaking, Lin Ce waved his hand.
"Master, please wait for me for one more day. If it really doesn't work out, we can consider the ransom later."
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